Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Operation SafeStreet Closes

Tomorrow Operation Safestreet is closing it's doors after more than twenty one years of service in our community. The Home Security Program (Smoke Detectors, Dead Bolt Locks, Door repair (after burglaries),Metal Bars for Basement Windows for the Elderly (free of charge) and a minimum cost to others along with Graffiti removal and the Car collard and Steering Wheel Club Programs will need to furnished by other sources. Please contact the NSO office (622-4628) in City Hall for follow up.

4 Comments:

After our house was burglarized we received a notice fromthis program. When I called and left a message there was onefollowup and then I called back and left another message andthere was never a followup... so I solved the problemanother route. I think if I would have been persistant andlow-income they would have helped. My impression was thatthey were underfunded and staffed to begin with...

Operation Brightside handles graffiti removal - this service has NOT been discontinued. Call locations of graffiti in to the Citizens' Service Bureau (622-4800).

In fact graffiti removal turn around time should start increasing soon. A new ordinance, deeming graffiti to be a public nuisance, gives the city the right to remove graffiti from private property after notifying the owner and giving that owner time to remove the graffiti on their own. The notice that goes to the owner will also include a consent form, which the owner can sign and return to Brightside, thus speeding up the removal process even more. There is no charge to the owner either way.

Prior to this ordinance, if Brightside couldn't track down the owner to get their permission, the best we could do was cite the owner for a building code violation - which didn't get the graffiti removed at all.

Operation Safestreet has closed. It is likely NST will pick up the Car-Club program - but it will take some time to get that launched.

What no one seems anxious to "pick up" and fund is one extremely valuable program -- Teen Sweep. You may not have heard of it because it worked. Teen Sweep gave teens a way to avoid trouble. So the good kids lose something useful that could help prevent rather than ameliorate trouble.